


Mistakes Were Made

by MaliceManaged



Series: A Norse God's Questionable Ideas Of Courtship [7]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Blood, Comfort, Dubious Morality, Gen, Healing, Implied/Referenced Torture, Kidnapping, Loki is Not Amused, Minor Violence, Nightmares, Protective Loki, Rescue, Secrets, Threats, Torture, Violence, keeping secrets, questionable decisions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-02
Updated: 2016-06-04
Packaged: 2018-07-11 21:31:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7071160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaliceManaged/pseuds/MaliceManaged
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luna finds herself kidnapped (<em>again</em>), and her abductors soon learn that taking her was a spectacularly <em>bad</em> idea.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yes; Luna being kidnapped is absolutely a running joke here. We regret nothing.

    Luna woke up tied to a chair. Not a very comfortable one, at that. She vaguely thought about how wrong it was that she felt more annoyance at the situation than fear. Was there a word for someone growing used to being kidnapped? There should be. She tried to remember how it had happened this time, and the details slowly came to her after a moment or two.

 

    Loki had returned her to Midgard (when did she start calling it that?) a month after she had made a complete fool of herself thanks to her grief-muddled mind because he needed to leave Alfheim and didn’t want to leave her there by herself (a very wise decision, considering how the _last_ time she’d been left alone went). That had been six months ago. He’d dropped by the supposedly more secure safehouses she’d been dumped at every so often to check on her, but never stayed long. They still didn’t know how he did it and at some point they stopped trying to prevent it and let her go home, keeping her under limited surveillance more out habit than any real interest.

 

    Luna remembered going out for groceries early in the evening, having had a sudden craving for gnocchi with chicken only to find that she was missing some ingredients, and then feeling as though she was being followed on the way back. She hadn’t gotten the chance to confirm her suspicion when a hand came out of nowhere behind her to cover her mouth and she felt a sharp sting in her neck as she was injected with a sedative.

 

    She lifted her head with a little difficulty and looked around, trying to determine where she was; the room was dark, almost bare except for the chair she was on and a table to her left covered by some kind of dark cloth stained with what she realised with a flash of panic was blood, and it was a bit damp. The only door in and out was before her and there were no windows that she could see.

 

    _This is not good,_ Luna thought to herself, trying to stay calm. She pulled on her wrists a little, testing the rope that bound them, but it was too tight; she’d rub her wrists raw before it gave way even a little. Her ankles were much the same. This was definitely not good. And she couldn’t even, she realised with another flare of panic, count on anyone in SHIELD for help, since they only monitored her as much as they still did when she was home; they wouldn’t notice something was off until she’d been gone for a long time, and that might very well be too late. This was the very definition of _not good._

 

    Luna took a deep breath. It would do her no good to panic. She didn’t know what these people wanted with her; whatever was on the table may not even come into play. Maybe they just wanted to scare her.

 

    She almost wished she could be that optimistic.

 

    The door opened and a man walked into the room, his face not particularly friendly-looking, and made his way towards her, stopping by the table. He lifted the cloth away and Luna barely stifled a gasp, though she was sure her already pale skin turned white as a sheet; on the table were everything from a surgical saw to a ball peen hammer, and some of the tools looked a bit... _used._ Without a word, the man arranged his instruments to his liking, picked up the hammer and walked over to Luna, causing her to hold her breath as she looked up at him with wide eyes, and then proceeded to slam the hammer down on Luna’s left hand with enough force to break it. Luna let out a scream of pain and shock and the man stepped back, looking at her impassively.

 

    “Now that you understand what will happen should you not tell me what I want to know,” He said simply, “We can begin.” He walked back to the table and placed the hammer down on it before turning to Luna once more. “The Key; where is it?” He asked.

 

    Luna looked at him through watery eyes, trying to push the pain in her hand to the back of her mind. “The _what?”_ She managed at last.

 

    The man frowned then turned to the table and picked up a knife. “Wrong answer...” He said before walking over to her.

 

****

 

    Loki was pissed. A quick glance at him would tell anyone that much.

 

    He’d had every intention of visiting Luna earlier in the day, as it had been a week since his last one, but was detained unexpectedly when Thor asked for his help. He’d considered simply ignoring his brother, but decided against it in the end; it could come in handy for Thor to owe him a favour later on. By the time the battle was over and Loki had cleaned himself of the results of it, it was night-time on Midgard and he thought about leaving his visit for the next day before deciding he didn’t really want to wait that long. It didn’t take him long to realise something was wrong; Luna was nowhere to be found, which wasn’t that alarming in and of itself, but she always left a note before going out in case he dropped by before she came back and there was no such thing anywhere. Add to that the fact that the kitchen looked as though she’d been about to prepare a meal and his suspicions heightened.

 

    He then decided to look for her with his seidr; he had promised he wouldn’t do that anymore without her permission unless it was absolutely necessary, and he figured now qualified as such. He found her just in time to see a man press a red-hot iron rod against her shoulder. A quick scan later, he was standing in a roomful of armed men, looking positively livid.

 

    He regarded them with an icy glare as they scrambled to point their guns at him. “I will give you all one chance to tell me where she is,” Loki began with deceptive calmness, “And I will kill you almost painlessly.”

 

    The men looked amongst each other then a few of them fired a few rounds that Loki didn’t even flinch at. They looked at each other nervously before trying again, this time all of them, emptying their magazines just as uselessly.

 

    “Now, that was just a poor choice...” Loki said, summoning his dagger and regarding the men with an incredibly disturbing grin before moving towards them.

 

    The first two didn’t even get a chance to react, such was the speed with which Loki came at them, slashing their throats open one after the other in one smooth movement. He moved on to the next while the others reloaded their rifles, stabbing his side then his heart. He threw a burst of magick at two others, knocking them against the wall with enough force to crack their skulls, and then set another two on fire and threw his dagger at another, embedding it straight into his eye. He moved to one of the two left, knocking his gun aside as he tried to fire at him, grabbed his head with both hands and easily snapped his neck before letting him fall to the floor carelessly. Loki stalked over to the last one slowly and he tried to back away, completely terrified, only to trip over a body and fall.

 

    “Where. Is. She?” Loki asked lowly, and the man pointed to a door to his left shakily, clearly not trusting his voice. Loki walked over to the man he’d thrown his dagger at, knelt down and pulled it free, and then made his way over to the other man. “You know when I told you I would kill you almost painlessly?” He began, looking between his dagger and the man before him, “I lied...”

 

****

 

    Luna was just about ready to black out from the pain again when the door suddenly burst open; she could through the dark edges of her vision make out Loki, and breathed a barely audible sigh of relief. Her kidnapper ran towards Loki with the knife he’d been using on her, but Loki easily sidestepped the attack, grabbed his arm and twisted it, relishing in the audible snap it made, and threw him to the far wall. He then rushed over to Luna, kneeling before her and taking her face in his hands to examine her; she could see his lips moving but the words were lost to her as she lost her fight to stay conscious.

 

    “I wonder,” Loki began, looking over at Luna’s kidnapper, “If you realise how big of a mistake you have made by doing this.”

 

    “I get hired to do a job, and I do it,” The man replied, “You think I’m scared of you? I’m not afraid of death.”

 

    Loki straightened up and regarded the man with a predatory half-grin. “Oh, I will kill you, but not right away,” He said with eerie calmness, “No; I will make you beg for it. And before I am done you will fully understand that you don’t touch what is mine.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this kinda got away from me... Oh, well; three chapters it is, then.

    When Luna began to awaken, the first thing she noticed was she wasn’t in as much pain as she would have expected, and that she was in what felt like a soft bed. She slowly opened her eyes to be met with the familiar wooden ceiling of an elven home and concluded she was in Alfheim, though she couldn’t remember getting there. She frowned and tried to think back, sorting through her last memories, when the door opened and Loki walked into the room followed by an elven woman with long dark hair and silvery eyes.

 

    “Well, that explains a few things,” Luna said, her voice a bit hoarse from disuse.

 

    “How much do you remember?” Loki asked as he walked up to the bed and sat down beside her.

 

    The elven woman walked over to a table by the bed and poured out a cup of water; she walked over to Luna’s other side and offered her the cup. Luna sat up, wincing slightly, and took it with a nod of thanks then gulped the contents down greedily.

 

    “Too much and not enough,” Luna finally replied, “How long have I been out?”

 

    “Four days,” Loki replied, “We needed to keep you asleep so you would heal more quickly.”

 

    “Yeah, about that...” Luna said, “I’m not nearly as injured as I should be...”

 

    “Bodil is very talented,” Loki replied, gesturing over to the elven woman, and then stood and addressed her, “I’ll leave you to your work.”

 

    Bodil nodded once and Loki looked at Luna with a slight smile then left the room.

 

    “Would you like some more water, my lady?” Bodil asked.

 

    “Please,” Luna replied gratefully, holding out the empty cup. Bodil picked up the jug from the bedside table and filled the cup again; Luna wasted no time in draining it again, letting out a relieved sigh. “Thank you,” She breathed.

 

    “You’re welcome,” Bodil said calmly, “I must examine you now, to be sure there are no more serious injuries left; if you will allow me...”

 

    Luna blinked in confusion then looked down at herself, finally noticing that she was dressed in a silky moss green robe. “Oh,” She said, more to herself, “How did I miss that?”

 

    She shook her head then pushed the bedcovers aside and move to the edge of the bed. She fumbled slightly with the sash keeping the robe closed until she managed to undo the knot, and pulled the robe open. It was a bit awkward, Luna hadn’t been naked in front of anyone since her mother left, but Bodil took her nervousness in stride; handling her with gentle fingers as she checked her over and examined her remaining injuries. After a few minutes Bodil began to murmur an enchantment and Luna felt a warm tingling sensation course through her; when it was over Bodil stepped back and Luna pulled the robe back on, feeling much less sore and achy than before.

 

    “I have done what I can; your body will do the rest on its own,” Bodil declared then looked Luna in the eyes seriously, “I apologise if I overstep, but I assume that Prince Loki does not know of the power contained within you?”

 

    Luna blinked, startled. “How did you...?” She said, barely above a whisper.

 

    “I am a healer, child; I’ve seen many an injured and broken body, and the fact of the matter is, you should not have survived the damage done to you if were simply human,” Bodil replied, then smiled gently at Luna’s worried expression, “He didn’t know the full extent of your injuries, and since he made no mention of it, I thought he may not know. I will keep this between us, if you would prefer.”

 

    “Please do,” Luna half-pleaded, “No one knows, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

 

    “Then so it shall be,” Bodil assured, and then she walked over to a trunk by the foot of the bed and pulled out a long silver-coloured dress and some underclothes, laying them on the bed beside Luna, “Now; let’s get you dressed, shall we?”

 

****

 

    Once Luna was dressed Bodil said her goodbyes and left, leaving her with her thoughts as she made her way over to the dining room. She’d begun to remember things a bit more clearly, some she really wished she didn’t; when she walked into the dining room Loki was waiting for her at the table and as she looked at him, she remembered, thought she hadn’t been in any state to notice at the time, that when she’d last seen him he was practically covered in blood. Luna sat down across from him quietly and looked down at her plate, biting her bottom lip in thought.

 

    “I take it you’ve remembered more,” Loki more stated than asked, not missing the slightly uncomfortable look on her face as she sat down.

 

    Luna was silent for a moment, debating with herself whether she really wanted to know what she was about to ask. “You killed them all, didn’t you?” She asked at length, looking up at him.

 

    “Yes,” Loki replied simply. He wasn’t going to lie to her and he wasn’t going to pretend he was sorry, or that he hadn’t particularly enjoyed dismantling the man who’d tortured her after he’d brought Bodil to her. “Does that bother you?” He asked with a carefully guarded expression.

 

    Luna frowned slightly and looked down, brows furrowing in thought, and then she looked back up at him. “Not particularly,” She said honestly.

 

    She thought it would, she figured it _should,_ but it honestly didn’t. Maybe it was shock, thought she didn’t think so. Maybe it was the knowledge that they would’ve had no problems whatsoever with torturing her to death looking for answers she didn’t have. (She still had no idea what this ‘Key’ thing they wanted even _was._ ) Whatever it was, knowing that Loki had slaughtered them all - quite messily, if the stains on his person had been any indication - didn’t really disturb her much.

 

    She had already known he could be dangerous when the situation called for it, and she knew he’d killed plenty of people in battle before; and while deep down she knew that the man who’d hurt her had suffered far worse than just being killed, she couldn’t exactly blame him for that. It didn’t make it right, but she’d learned by now that Loki was a deeply emotional creature; and rage is most definitely an emotion. All in all, she was more upset that it had been necessary, such as it was.

 

    Loki relaxed at her response, relieved that he hadn’t ruined whatever relationship they had. “Good,” He said then hesitated for a moment, “I should tell you, though, that I returned to Midgard after I was sure you would be alright to have a... _conversation_ with those in charge of keeping an eye on you, over how easily you were abducted...”

 

    “... Do I... want to know how that went?” Luna asked bemusedly.

 

    “Let’s just say that several people are now re-evaluating their career choices,” Loki replied with a mischievous grin.

 

    Luna laughed slightly, shaking her head in amused disbelief. “You know, at the rate you’re going,” She commented, “SHIELD’s going to have to replace all its employees before the year’s out.”

 

****

 

    In retrospect, it really shouldn’t have been very surprising. Luna was strong, that much was obvious in how she carried on despite what she’d been through in the past year, but it didn’t take away the fact that she had been tortured for several hours.

 

    She woke up with a start and a panicked shriek from reliving nightmares, clutching the sheets tightly in her hands as she took deep breaths to try and calm down. When her heart ceased racing she collapsed back onto the bed with a sigh and stared up at the ceiling, wondering if it was worth it to try and sleep again. After ten minutes, she sighed again and got out of bed; walking into her bathroom she ran a warm bath and, shedding her slip carelessly, settled into it with a pleased sigh. She relaxed until the water began to cool then washed off the sweat she’d worked up in her tossing and turning and stepped out of the tub; once dry she wrapped herself in the towel and walked back to the bedroom.

 

    She stood in the middle of the room for a while, wondering what to do next. She was still tired, but she didn’t want to sleep for fear of more nightmares. Her eyes fell on the silver bracelet on her bedside table, the one Loki had given her the day they’d scattered her father’s ashes; she wore it everywhere and thought she’d lost it when they’d taken her, but Loki had returned it to her after dinner. She stared at it for a while then made a decision; dropping the towel on the floor, she went over to one of the chairs by the fireplace where she’d left the robe she’d woken up in, picked it up and slipped it on. Making sure it was securely tied closed, she walked out of the room and towards Loki’s, knocking on the door and stepping back to wait.

 

    It took a little while - it _was_ very late, after all - and then the door opened to reveal a clearly-just-woken-up Loki. He looked at her for a moment before stepping aside without a word to let her in.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Some questionable life choices ahead. Don't try this at home kids.

    It was a little past dawn by the time Luna was too exhausted to stay awake and dozed off mid-sentence with her head on Loki’s shoulder. They’d spent the hours talking aimlessly to distract her mind, anything from discussing favourite books to debating politics, and Loki was a bit impressed with how long she managed to last; he’d almost fallen asleep before her. After a bit of deliberation he carried her over to his bed and slipped in besides her, pulling her against his side and drifted off himself, hoping she’d be too tired to dream.

 

    When next he awoke, Luna was just beginning to stir, and he carefully tried to disentangle himself from her only for her to voice an incoherent complaint and snuggle closer to him. Loki sighed softly and let it be, meeting her eyes as she opened them. Luna blinked sluggishly, looking a little confused, before she remembered how she ended up there.

 

    “Good morning,” She mumbled sleepily then glanced over at the window and frowned slightly, “Afternoon. Whatever.”

 

    “Is it?” Loki asked, absently tracing his fingertips up and down her arm.

 

    Luna gave it some thought then shrugged. “It’s not terrible,” She replied, “That’s good enough for me.”

 

    Loki frowned. “Not for me,” He said then sat up and looked at her seriously, “I have a gift for you, little bird, that might aid with your nightmares.”

 

    “What kind of ‘gift’?” Luna asked, sitting up.

 

    Loki reached forward and adjusted Luna’s gown, calling to her attention that it had slipped slightly open with her movements, and then took her face in his hands. “It is not going to be pleasant, and you may even hate me for it,” Loki warned, “But in the end; it _will_ help.”

 

    “Is any of that supposed to make me _not_ worry?” Luna asked bemusedly.

 

    “No.”

 

    “Okay, then.”

 

****

 

    Lunch was quiet, as Luna processed what Loki had told her; it seemed incredibly wrong at first, as she had quite loudly told him, but the more she thought about it the more sense it made. Twisted and really rather disturbing sense, but sense nonetheless. She wasn’t sure she’d go so far as to say she agreed with it, though. Still, she decided as she pushed her empty plate away, she might as well try; after all, Loki had yet to fail in helping her through her recent traumas. Maybe he was right about this, too.

 

    Loki wondered if the timing was right as he led Luna down hallways and doors; she hadn’t had much time to process what she’d gone through yet, after all. But he didn’t like the idea of her avoiding sleep just to keep nightmares at bay, and he certainly didn’t miss how she’d been a little jumpy since waking up the previous day, even if she wasn’t aware of it. They went down into the basement until they reached a large door that seemed to be shimmering slightly; there, Loki stopped and turned around to face Luna.

 

    “Once I undo these wards and open the door, there is no turning back,” He said seriously, “If you have any doubts; now is the time to voice them.”

 

    “Oh, I have plenty of doubts,” Luna said with a slight nervous laugh, “But, regardless of how questionable it is to everyone else, I do trust you; so if you think this’ll help...”

 

    “It will,” Loki replied assuredly, “I wouldn’t bring you otherwise.”

 

    “Alright, then,” Luna said, “Let’s do this.”

 

    Loki nodded once then turned to the door, unlocking it with a wave of his hand. He turned back to Luna slightly and held out his hand to her; Luna took a deep steadying breath to brace herself then took his hand and let him lead her inside the room. Once past the door Luna froze in place, a slight gasp escaping her lips, green eyes open wide.

 

    At the other end of the room, chained to the wall, was the man who’d tortured her. Or rather, a shade of him; he was barely recognisable through the blood, bruises and badly healed cuts. Loki gave serious consideration to just killing him in the end, but after a moment of deranged brilliance asked Bodil to heal him just enough to keep him alive. The healer had had serious reservations, but was service-bound to obey his commands.

 

    Loki looked back at Luna and squeezed her hand reassuringly. “Come,” He urged, tugging on her hand gently until she began to move.

 

    Two feet away from the man Luna stopped abruptly. “I can’t,” She said in a half-whisper, shaking her head almost frantically, “I can’t.”

 

    “Yes, you can,” Loki said firmly but gently, tugging on her hand again, “There is nothing to be afraid of, little bird. _He_ is nothing.”

 

    The man coughed and Luna started with a slight squeak, trying to take a step back, but Loki’s hold on her prevented that. She tugged harder on her hand and Loki let her go; instead of running out of the room like he half expected, she simply stood there, staring at the man with a sort of morbid fascination. She took stock of his wounds and noticed they seemed to mirror some of the ones he had inflicted upon her, and she shuddered slightly at the memory.

 

    After few minutes the man opened with difficulty the one eye that wasn’t swollen completely shut and looked up at her. “Tough kid,” He managed before coughing, spitting out some blood, “Lasted longer than most.”

 

    “I’m a girl,” Luna replied with a surprisingly steady voice, “We deal with pain all the time.”

 

    The man laughed, though the action seemed to cause him pain and he coughed out more blood. “Bit more than that though, isn’t it?” He managed through gritted teeth.

 

    “Why did you take me?” Luna asked.

 

    “Money,” The man replied, “Lot of it, too.”

 

    “Why?”

 

    “The Key,” He replied, “You know where it is.”

 

    “What ‘Key’?” Luna asked, losing patience, taking a step forward, “I have no idea what that is!”

 

    “Oh, I think you do, Miss Altieri,” The man replied with a pained smile, “Can’t believe I didn’t see it.”

 

    Luna drew in a sharp breath, realising what he meant; before she was fully aware of what she was doing, she closed the distance between them and brought her knee up to connect harshly with his face, hearing a crack as his nose broke again under the force. The man slumped forward unconscious and Luna turned to Loki to find him staring at her in surprise; he had expected a reaction to facing her attacker, but that wasn’t quite it.

 

    “Are we done here?” Luna asked quietly, and Loki noticed she was shaking slightly.

 

    “Of course,” Loki replied then went over to her, placing his hand on the small of her back and leading her out of the room.

 

****

 

    Luna went straight to her room and locked herself in, which Loki had half-expected, though he couldn’t deny it still stung. He did use the time alone to ponder the man’s words; this ‘Key’ clearly meant something to Luna, judging by her reaction, though he did believe she hadn’t known what it was at first. Maybe she knew the thing by another name. Whatever it was, it was something she wanted kept secret, even - _Or especially,_ a voice in the back of his mind was quick to suggest - from him. He didn’t like the idea, but he could hardly blame her for it. After all; how many secrets did _he_ have?

 

    Still, this secret was worth torturing, even killing, for; Loki decided he had to know what it was, for both their sakes.

 

****

 

    Luna had paced the length of her room until her legs began to grow tired, worrying. Someone knew. They knew about what she found all those years ago. Whatever they called it, they knew; whoever they were. They clearly didn’t know the full story, as they seemed to think she’d hidden it somewhere, which she was more than grateful for. But the man... he’d figured it out. That was dangerous. If Loki got him talking, and she had no doubt he could, she’d have more explaining to do than she was ready for. She trusted him, cared about him in ways she didn’t fully understand yet, but she wasn’t ready to share this.

 

    With that in mind, she left her room and retraced her steps to the room in the basement. The man was just rousing when she walked in, and she paused before him uncertainly. There was only one way to keep her secret; she knew that perfectly well. But could she actually do it?

 

    She looked down at the dagger in her hand; she had taken it from Loki’s room, and if he noticed, he didn’t comment on it. She took a shaky step forward, causing the man to look up at her, and then another, and another, until she stood right in front of him. Luna took a deep breath and tightened her grasp on the dagger.

 

    “Don’t,” Loki spoke from the doorway, and she started and whirled around to face his worried expression, “Once you take that step, you can’t take it back, Luna.”

 

    He crossed the room quickly and stood before her, holding out his hand for the dagger with an almost pleading look. Luna hesitated for a moment then returned the dagger, and he released the breath he’d been holding. He gently pushed her aside, knelt before the man, and in one quick movement stabbed him in the neck, causing Luna to gasp. Loki let go of the dagger and stood, watching the man choke to death impassively, and then turned to Luna.

 

    “Whatever secret was worth this; I won’t pry,” He said then stepped forward and took hold of Luna’s chin in his clean hand, turning her face up to his, “So long as you promise me you will tell me someday.”

 

    Luna hesitated, internally arguing with herself. “I promise,” She whispered at last.

 

    Loki moved his hand to cup her cheek then leaned down and kissed the other one before pulling her into a hug that she tightly returned.


End file.
